Galway Hurdle Prize Boost To mark the 50th year of Guinness sponsorship of the Galway Hurdle the prizemoney for this year's renewal will be increased by E50,000 to an Irish National Hunt record purse of E300,000. To put this into perspective the Guinness Galway Hurdle is now worth the same amount as the value of the Hennessy Gold Cup and Lexus Chase combined. Rory Sheridan, Head of Sponsorship at Diageo said: "We are delighted to have reached this milestone of sponsoring the Galway Festival for 50 years. The festival is always a phenomenal success with huge attendances and a fantastic atmosphere." The Tote Galway Plate has also been boosted by E20,000 to bring the total prize fund to E220,000 following the announcement that Tote Ireland is to renew its sponsorship of the historic contest for a further three years. Tim Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Tote Ireland said: "It's great to renew our partnership with Galway and our association with the Galway Plate. The Galway Races and Tote both have a long, proud tradition at the heart of Irish racing so the sponsorship is a great fit. The quality of the race really stands up especially when you look at the most recent winners - Road to Riches and Carlingford Lough."
